


War Is Coming

by dragonwings948



Category: Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Gallifrey (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Audio: Gallifrey: Time War, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Sharing a Bed, Time War (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2020-11-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 01:33:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,471
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27786040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dragonwings948/pseuds/dragonwings948
Summary: Before the Time War comes, Romana has nightmares, and Leela is the only person who can calm her.
Relationships: Leela & Romana II
Comments: 7
Kudos: 8





	War Is Coming

**Author's Note:**

> Big spoilers for the first Gallifrey: Time War volume ahead!

_War is coming._

It was the plague in her thoughts, the virus in her system. It was the thought that wouldn’t let her sleep at night.

_War is coming._

No one was safe from those cursed metal death machines that came to destroy in her nightmares. Not Leela, not Narvin, not Braxiatel—not even the Doctor. They took turns being the victims in her most horrid dreams, the ones where the Daleks overran Gallifrey in a matter of minutes and Romana watched everything she’d ever worked for, everyone she’d ever loved crumble to dust in front of her.

_War is coming._

She was fueled by nightmares. The atrocities she saw in her dreams only drove her to work harder, _harder,_ to find a way to stop this, to prevent the terrible war they all knew was coming. Every day she felt as if she was running away from the inevitability that she couldn’t stop this. No one could.

_War is coming._

But those grating voices screamed in her head, dragging her back to those years she’d tried so hard to forget, sitting in the darkness of a prison and losing all hope of rescue. Her nightmares were twisted remnants of memories and fears; or perhaps, most of all, the fear that her memories would once again become a reality.

_War is coming._

While the voices of the Daleks screeched as they announced their destruction or laughed as they obliterated the Capitol, Romana could hear something else, a chorus of the awful metallic squeals. It didn’t take her long to realise they were echoing her worst nightmares.

_“WAR. IS. COMING.”_

Romana woke up screaming.

She clutched at her bedsheets, trying to find something to hold onto. Anything. Reality flooded back to her in a moment. The distinct smell, the cool air, the sparsely decorated room. _Home._

With a groan, Romana flopped back down onto her pillow. Couldn’t she get _one_ night of rest?

A soft knock sounded at her door. Romana had been expecting it. She cleared her throat and swallowed before calling, “Come in, Leela.”

The door whooshed open and Leela entered, still dressed in her outfit from the day before. Romana immediately noticed that there seemed to be a cloud over her expression, like she was preoccupied. That was unusual—this little “tradition” had started long ago when Leela had been Romana’s bodyguard and Romana had been haunted by nightmares of Pandora, but Leela had always been confident and comforting. This time, she looked just as uncertain as Romana felt.

Still, she asked the same question she always did when she came to check on Romana. “Are you all right?”

Romana let out a long sigh. “No.” She looked over her friend, noting the worried lines on her forehead. “What about you?”

Leela walked over to the bed. Without saying a word, Romana shifted over and gave her room. It wasn’t uncommon that Leela would sit on the edge of the mattress or curl up in a ball towards the foot of the bed or sometimes even sprawl out horizontally, her feet dangling off the edge. Long ago she’d said that she stayed to watch over Romana and keep her nightmares in check, but in the days after Torvald had been revealed to be Andred and then Romana— _Pandora—_ had killed him, Leela had sometimes come in wordlessly and fallen asleep on her bed. Romana had been much less comfortable with it back then, but she’d known that after the loss of her husband, Leela’s bed probably felt cold and empty. Allowing her to sleep close by was the least she could do after all that Leela had done to stay by her side.

Now here they were, years later, and Romana didn’t even find it remotely strange anymore as Leela lay next to Romana on her stomach, slightly elevating her upper body with her arms. She angled herself slightly towards Romana but didn’t meet her eyes.

“I am…uneasy.”

“I can see that.” Romana rolled onto her side and propped her head up. She found it much easier to concern herself with Leela rather than her own worries. “What’s troubling you?”

“This mission you are sending me on tomorrow, with the Master.”

Romana had nearly forgotten about that, she’d been so concerned with other things; the death of Ace, the disappearance of Brax, the fear that her nightmares were coming true, that the people she loved were being picked off one by one…

“I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t think you could handle it; you’re one of the few people who can deal with him.”

“Can anyone deal with him?” She frowned hard at the pillow beneath her and pushed her hair behind her ear. “You cannot predict his movements; even the most dangerous of predators in the forest can be made easy prey once you know the way they move and attack, but with the Master it is not the same.”

For a moment, Romana allowed Leela’s words to sink in. What if by allowing Leela to go, she’d lose her, too?

What would she do without Leela?

But it was necessary, she reminded herself. It was the next step in trying to stop the war, one of the only options left to them.

“I won’t let anything happen to you,” Romana said firmly, convincing herself as much as Leela. “I’ve already told you about all the measures we’re taking—”

“They can all go wrong in a moment,” Leela said.

Romana sat up. A shiver ran down her spine and she pulled her blankets around herself like a cloak. “Are you really that worried?”

“It is not myself I am worried for.” Finally, Leela’s cold blue eyes locked onto her. “I will go wherever you wish me to go, Romana, because I trust that you know best. But I have seen what losing Ace and Braxiatel has done to you. I do not want to leave you alone.”

Romana breathed out a shaky sigh. _“War is coming,”_ she whispered. The nightmares overwhelmed her mind, coming back to her again in flashes of memory. “I _must_ try to stop it if I can.”

“Romana.”

She met Leela’s eyes and for a brief moment wondered what her life would be like without Leela’s comforting presence. Of course she had Narvin, but it was different. Leela understood her in ways that no one else ever could.

“War is here,” Leela said, “and you cannot stop it on your own. You must accept it and stand with us as we fight for our home.”

 _Our home._ There was a time when Romana would have never imagined Leela saying that.

“The Doctor would say that while there’s life, there’s hope.” Romana raised her arms and gestured outside her rooms. “You’ve already seen the lengths that the War Council will go to to protect Gallifrey. Once the war really starts…” She looked down and picked a piece of fluff from her blanket. “I don’t think the time lords will be any better than the Daleks themselves.”

Leela was silent for a moment before asking gently, “In your nightmares, is this what you see?”

Slowly, Romana nodded. “It all ends the same: with Gallifrey in ruins and everyone I…everyone I love, dead.”

Leela’s hand encompassed hers, sending warmth through Romana’s cold fingers. “Then I will go tomorrow.” There was a new look in Leela’s expression, one of determination rather than conflict. “I will help you try to stop this war.”

Romana was able to muster a small smile as she squeezed Leela’s hand. “Thank you, Leela. And I know this goes without saying, but—be careful. And get some rest tonight.”

“Only if you do, too.” Leela smiled as she slipped her hand from Romana’s and dropped her head onto her folded arms.

Romana made sure that Leela had a blanket covering her. She was already asleep, her mouth hanging open and gentle snoring starting up. Romana suppressed a chuckle. She wished that she could fall asleep as easily as Leela could.

Instead, she lay down and watched Leela’s peaceful expression. Something nagged at her, a thought wondering if this was the last time they’d be able to comfort each other like this. But that was silly, and probably just Leela’s concern rubbing off on her. Leela wasn’t going anywhere.

Eventually, Romana allowed her own eyes to close. At least if war _did_ come, they’d all stand together.

* * *

The following night, Romana had no thought of sleep. She didn’t even change clothes. She sat on her bed, but it was cold and empty.

War was here. And Leela was gone.

Romana let the tears fall down her face. Her nightmares were coming true. Little by little, everything she lived for was being stripped away from her.

And it was all her fault.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry


End file.
